内容简介
赵朴初先生本着极其严谨的态度来写作《佛教常识答问（汉英对照）》。他在前言中称：“我喜欢‘小题大做’，而不愿‘大题小做’，更害怕‘有题空做’。”正是因为这样的情怀，作者将佛教两千多年的历史源流、高深的教理教义、浩如烟海的经典著作，深入浅出地概括成为“常识答问”。这《佛教常识答问（汉英对照）》虽冠以“常识”之名，却实为一部佛学入门大纲，对于希望了解佛学常识以及对佛学感兴趣的读者而言，是一部不可多得的启蒙读物。
《佛教常识答问（汉英对照）》自初版以来，在中国大陆已印行达几十万册，还被译成英文、日文、韩文等多个外语版本，是当之无愧的佛学经典著作。
作者简介
赵朴初，（1907-2000），安徽太湖人。书法家、佛学家、社会活动家。幼承家学，尤勤于文史哲的研习，大学时代开始探研佛教教义，后从事佛教及社会救济工作。1945年参与发起成立中国民主促进会。1952年参加发起筹建中国佛教协会，后任副会长兼秘书长。1980年任中国佛教协会会长、中国佛学院院长、中国宗教和平委员会主席。曾任全国政协副主席、中国民主促进会名誉主席、中国书法家协会副主席等职。著有《佛教常识答问》、《滴水集》、《片石集》、《灵山集》等。
赵桐，1981年毕业于首都师范大学中文系，获文学学士学位。1993年至1995年在斯里兰卡凯拉尼亚大学佛学、巴利语研究生院学习，获佛学硕士学位。自1996年开始从事佛学著作的英汉互译工作，先后为赵朴初先生、一诚法师等进行佛学著作的文字翻译，曾担任第一届、第二届世界佛教论坛的翻译工作。
目录
“博雅双语名家名作”出版说明
Editorial Notes
编辑凡例
Translator's WORDS
译者前言
Preface
序
1 THE BUDDHA AND THE ORIGIN OF BUDDHISM
壹 佛陀和佛教的创立
2 THE ESSENCE OF THE BUDDHA DHAMMA AND THE BUDDHIST CANONICAL LITERATURE
贰 佛法的基本内容和佛教经籍
3 THE SA?GHA AND THE BUDDHA'S DISCIPLES
叁 僧伽和佛的弟子
4 THE DEVELOPMENT, DECLINE AND RESURGENCE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA
肆 佛教在印度的发展、衰灭和复兴
5 THE SPREAD, DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA
伍 佛教在中国的传播、发展和演变
Appendix：Buddhist terms in Pāli, English and Chinese 附录：巴、英、汉佛教术语对照表
前言
序
这本书是我近四十年前开始写的，因为事务冗忙，时作时辍。原来计划，除现在的五章外，还有三章是有关中国与外国佛教关系史的，因佛教协会已有这方面资料的编辑和著作，所以不重复了。
我写成第一章后，曾以楞严经“如人饮水，冷暖自知”这句话用“饮水”的笔名陆续在《现代佛学》杂志上发表。有一位朋友问我：“你为什么用这样一个小题目？”我说：“我喜欢‘小题大做’, 而不愿‘大题小做’，更害怕‘有题空做’。”这本书名很合我的心意。
几年前，一位青年僧人用日文翻译这本书，我应他的要求写序时，曾记下与本书有关的一件事：1957年我陪一位柬埔寨僧人见毛泽东主席，客人未到之前，我先到了，毛主席便和我漫谈。他问：“佛教有这么一个公式——赵朴初，即非赵朴初，是名赵朴初，有没有这个公式呀？”我说：“有。”主席再问：“为什么？先肯定，后否定？”我说：“不是先肯定，后否定，而是同时肯定，同时否定。”谈到这里，客人到了，没有能谈下去。后来，我在写这本书的第二章时，想起这一次未谈完的问答，我想，书中谈到缘起性空的思想，可能补充了当时我在毛主席面前所想讲的话。
我曾看到一本毛主席的勤务员李银桥写的书。有一天，毛主席在延安出门散步，毛主席对李银桥说：“我们去看看佛教寺庙，好不好？”李银桥说：“那有什么看头？都是一些迷信。”毛主席说：“片面片面，那是文化。”我因而想起“文化大革命”结束后，周建人先生写信给我说：“文革”初期范文澜先生向他说，自己正在补课，读佛书。范老说，佛教在中国将近两千年，对中国文化有那么深厚的关系，不懂佛教，就不能懂得中国文化史。1987年，我到四川一个佛教名胜地方看到被人贴迷信标语的事实，回来写了一份报告，钱学森博士看见了，写信给我说：“宗教是文化。”
这三个人，一是伟大的革命家，一是著名的历史学家，一是当代的大科学家，所见相同，都承认佛教是文化，而今天还有不少人的认识水平和当年李银桥的一样。
我最初写这本书的动机只是为了和外国朋友谈话时，翻译人员因缺乏佛教知识而感到困难，想为他们提供一些方便。但这许多年来，得到国内不少人的关怀、鼓励，也得到一些外国朋友的注意。事实说明，这一本小书对于增进人们对佛教的了解，增进国际朋友对中国佛教的了解，不无少许贡献。
我感谢译者为此书所付出的宝贵的心力。我虔诚期待国际朋友对于此书内容给予指教。
赵朴初
1998年6月
精彩书摘
1Q：What is Buddhism？
A：Buddhism，in a general sense，is a religion with its canonical literature，rites，customs，Sa?gha Order（congregational organization）etc.; more specifically，it is the Buddha's teachings，and with this specific meaning it should be termed the Buddha Dhamma.
2Q：What is "Dhamma"？
A："Dharma" in Sanskrit（"Dhamma" in Pāli）means "retaining one's own nature，so that it can be recognized"．That is to say，everything has its own attributes and appearance（S．prak?ti and lak?a?a，P．pakati and lakkha?a）and maintains its own properties，by which people can perceive it as what it is．For instance，water maintains its property of wetness and acts according to its fixed track，so people recognize it as water when they see it．Conversely，when something is devoid of wetness and obey different rules from water，there then can be no conception of water．Therefore，Buddhism views everything as "dhamma"．The terms "all dhammas"，"each dhamma" appearing in Buddhist canons indicate "all things" or "universal existence"．According to this interpretation，the discourses delivered by the Buddha based on his own empirical comprehension of dhammas are also "Dhamma" since they hold true to the principle of "retaining its own nature，so that it can be recognized."
3Q：Is the Buddha a deity？
A：No，the Buddha is not a deity．He was a man who lived in the 6th century BC．He had his own given and family names，his given name being Siddhattha（S．Siddhārtha）and his family name Gotama（S．Gautama）．As he belonged to the Sākya clan，people also called him Sākyamuni，meaning a sage of the Sākyas.
4Q：Why is the Buddha called "Fo" in Chinese？What does it mean？
A："Fo" is the abbreviation for "Fotuo" which was used to translate the word "Buddha".（The characters used for "Fotuo" were pronounced "buda" at the time of translation.）Buddha means "an enlightened one" or "an awakened one"．The term "Buddha" existed in India from the earliest times，but Buddhism has attributed three additional connotations to the term．They are as follows：（1）enlightenment（Sambodhi，which means thoroughly realizing the properties and appearance of all dhammas as they are）;（2）perfect enlightenment（Sammā-sambodhi，which means not only enlightening oneself but also equally and universally enlightening others）;（3）supreme or paramount enlightenment（Anuttara sammā-sambodhi，which means one's wisdom and achievement have reached the highest and the most perfect sphere in enlightening both oneself and others）.
5Q：Are there any other Buddhas besides Sākyamuni？
A：Buddhism claims that there were people who attained Buddhahood in the past，and there will be people to become Buddhas in the future．It is possible for everybody to achieve enlightenment．Therefore，"All living beings have the Buddha-nature，everyone with the Buddha-nature may attain Buddhahood."
6Q：Is the Chinese term "Rulai Fo" identical to Sākyamuni or is he somebody else？
A："Rulai" was translated from the Sanskrit word "Tathāgata"．"Ru" means "suchness"（tathatā），or "according to the reality"（Yathābhūta?），i.e．the ultimate reality of all dhammas，while "lai" means "come"．"Rulai"（Tathāgata）is interpreted in the Buddhist scriptures as "coming by the path of Tathāgata" or "coming according to the reality"．Tathāgata is a general term and another name for "the Buddha"．Thus Gotama Buddha can be called Gotama Tathāgata，and Amita Buddha can be called Amita Tathāgata.
7Q：Are Amita Buddha and Gotama Buddha not one and the same？
A：No，Amita Buddha or Amitābha is the Buddha of another world．The Chinese term "Amituofo" is the transliteration from Sanskrit of "Amitābha"，meaning "boundless light".
8Q：What is the meaning of "Nanmo Fo"（南无佛）？Why is it pronounced as "Namo Fo"（那摩佛）？
A："Nanmo" is the transliteration of the Sanskrit "Namo"．The Chinese characters "南无" were used since their pronunciation was similar with "namo" in ancient times when this term was introduced into China．Such a pronunciation is still preserved now in parts of China's Guangdong and Fujian provinces．"Namo" means salutation or homage．Even today，when Indians meet，they say "Namaste" to each other，that is "Homage to you".
9Q：What is known about the life of Sākyamuni？
A：Well，Sākyamuni lived around the 6th century BC，equivalent to the Spring and Autumn Period in China，and was a contemporary of Confucius．He was the eldest son of the King of Kapilavatthu．His father was named Suddhodana; his mother，Māyā．Queen Māyā gave birth to Prince Siddhattha on the way to her parents' home while taking a rest under a tree in Lumbinī Grove，since，according to the custom prevailing in India at that time，women should go back to their parents' home for child bearing.
10Q：Are there any vestiges of Lumbinī Grove remaining today？
A：During the 7th century AD，Tipi?akācariya Xuan Zang（Hsuan Tsang）of China visited Lumbinī Grove．According to his account，he saw the stone pillar erected there by King A?oka about 800 years before，marking the birthplace of the Buddha．The site at that time，however，was in a state of desolation，the pillar having been struck by lightning and the top having fallen down onto the ground．Subsequently，the birthplace of the Buddha sank into oblivion because nobody could read the letters on the pillar．It was not until 1897 when the A?oka pillar was re-discovered，archeologists deciphered the inscriptions and the ravaged ruins of Lumbinī Grove were excavated．Some ancient settlements were also excavated in the vicinity of that site，part of which may have belonged to the old city of Kapilavatthu．Today，the government of Nepal has proclaimed it as Holy Land and undertaken necessary reconstruction and protection.
11Q：How was Sākyamuni educated in his childhood？
A：Queen Māyā died soon after giving birth．Young Sākyamuni was brought up by his aunt（his mother's sister）Princess Prajāpati．As a child he began to learn literature，philosophy，arithmetic and so on from Brahmin scholars and gained a broad and profound knowledge．He also learned martial arts from warriors and became a master at riding，shooting and fencing．Because of his great intelligence and striking features，his father，king Suddhodana，hoped that he would become a universal ruler（Rāja Cakkavattin，a king who could unify the whole world）and perform meritorious services after he succeeded to the throne.
12Q：Why didn't he succeed to the throne later on？
A：Prince Siddhattha in his childhood developed the habit of meditating．Many phenomena he observed touched him strongly and made him think hard：e.g．the hungry，thirsty and exhausted peasants working under the scorching sun，panting and sweating cattle being flogged as they plough，the struggle among snakes，insects，birds and beasts under the law of the jungle，weak and ugly old people，the moaning and suffering sick，the dead in funeral processions with their families and friends weeping behind．All these presented him with a problem：how to deliver the world from suffering．Neither the Veda he had read nor the knowledge he had acquired，nor his future throne and power could solve this problem．Therefore，he harbored the idea of renouncing the world in his early days，and finally he relinquished his throne.
